Brush

ABSTRACT

A cylindrical brush including a rigid support member and a flexible bristle support carrier provided with a plurality of bristles of a synthetic plastic material. The support member and support carrier are provided with means for connecting the members with one another.

Write States Patent Liebsciier Sept. 4, 1973 BRUSH [75] Inventor: Johannes Liebscher, Nassau/Lahn, {56] References Cmd Germany UNITED STATES PATENTS 3 Assignee; Firma L ifl i International Gunter 1,386,617 8/1921 Gunderman 29/118 Leiihelt Nassau/Lab", FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Germany 1,085,091 7 1954 France l/l76 [22] Filed: Aug. 118, 1971 804,331 11/1958 Great Britain 15/187 [211 App! l72707 Primary Examiner-Peter Feldman Att0rney-Michael S. Striker Foreign Appiication Priority Data Sept. 12, 1970 Germany G 33 969.4 [57] ABSTRACT A cylindrical brush including a rigid support member [52] US. Cl 15/179, 15/176, l//1188l7, and a flexible bristle support carrier provided with a plurality of bristles of a synthetic plastic material. The A46) 6 1 29 support member and support carrier are provided with means for connecting the members with one another.

4 ciainis', 4 Drawing Figures Patented Sept. 4, 1973 1: y m [k m w m snusu BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to brushes, and more particularly to cylindrically shaped brushes which may be composed partially or in total of synthetic plastic materials.

Brushes which are composed of synthetic plastic materials are well known. In this type of brush the body of the brush or support member, the bristle support carrier and the bristles are usually constructed in one piece. This one piece construction leads to certain difficulties. In order that the brush may have sufficient rigidity so that when it is gripped it will maintain its shape, only relatively hard and inflexible materials may be made use of. This choice of materials, of course, leads to bristles which are also quite hard and inflexible. In addition to this the sudden transition from the relatively massive support structure to the thin bristles leads to stress concentrations which have an adverse effect on the useful life of the brush.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a brush which is not subject to the disadvantages of the prior art.

A more specific object of the invention is to furnish a brush which is provided with flexible bristles and an at least substantially rigid body.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brush in which the bristle support carrier and the bristles are formed in one piece of a flexible synthetic plastic material and the support member is composed of a different, more rigid material.

The above objects are embodied in a brush, preferably but not necessarily a cylindrical brush, comprising a flexible bristle carrier having two sides and provided with a plurality of bristles on one of these sides. A rigid support member is provided having an exposed side to which the other side of the flexible bristle carrier is to be applied. The support member and the bristle carrier are releasably connected to one another by connecting means.

In separating the brush support element from the bristle carrier and bristles and making each as a separate entity, a number of advantages are obtained. The brush as such, except for the bristles, should either be completely rigid or have a fair amount of rigidity. For example, if one were to use the brush as a cleaning instrument, it would be difficult to provide uniform contact with the piece to be cleaned if the support member were flexible. This rigidity may be obtained, without in any way influencing the flexibility of the bristles, by using a hard or relatively inflexible material and by making the support member substantial enough for its intended service. On the other hand, for the bristle support member and the bristles a flexible synthetic plastic material may be used and,since the rigidity of the brush is assured by the support member, the bristle support carrier may be made quite thin. A thin bristle support carrier not only prevents the appearance of stress concentrations at the junction of the bristles with the sup port carrier but in addition makes it easier for the sup port carrier to conform to the contours of the support member.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the fact that a single bristle support carrier design may be combined with difierent support members to produce a multitude of different brush configurations. For example, a flat bristle carrier may be wrapped around a cylindrical support member to produce a roller brush, or it may be attached to a flat support member to produce a flat brush. The shape of the brush is mainly determined by the shape of the support member. It is obvious that economics in manufacturing the brushes are possible with this kind of flexibility of use.

A further important feature of the invention concerns itself with how the bristle support carrier is to be attached to the support member. One or more projections are provided in the side of the bristle support carrier facing away from the bristles which engage a suitable groove or grooves in the support member. The projections have an undercut trapezoidal cross-section and the grooves have a dovetail outline which permits the bristle support carrier to be securely fastened to the support member without the use of additional fastening devices. Various combinations of projections and grooves are possible. A flat bristle support carrier may, for instance, be provided with two projections which extend along opposite margins of the carrier. If the carrier is to be mounted on a flat or slightly curved support member, two grooves are provided at opposite sides of the support member. If the support member is of cylindrical shape it may be provided with a single groove that extends in the longitudinal direction. The bristle support carrier is wrapped around the support member and the two projections, each co nfigurated in such a manner that when placed side by side they have a trapezoidal cross-section, are slid into the single groove. A bristle support carrier may also be made in the shape of a cylinder. With this configuration a single trapezoidal projection extending along the inside of the bristle carrier mates with the groove in the support member. It should be noted that not only does the connecting arrangement fasten the bristle support carrier to the support member but in addition it prevents relative rotation between the two which is particularly important in the case of cylindrical brushes.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a brush according to the present invention;

FIG. 2a and 2b show perspective views of the parts of the brush shown in FIG. 1 before assembly; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a brush showing a different embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 there is shown in perspective a brush of cylindrical form for use as a roller brush in a surface treating apparatus. The invention is, of course, not limited to the shape shown and may be used for example in implements for cleaning and massage purposes.

The brush illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a hollow cylindrical rigid support member 11 provided on its outer circumferential surface with a longitudinally extending undercut groove 12 of dove-tail outline. A flexible bristle carrier 13 provided with a plurality of bristles 14 on one of its two sides and having two projections 16 on the other side surrounds the support member 11. As may be seen in FIGS. 2a and 2b the bristle support carrier 13 is flat and each projection 16 extends along opposite margins of the support carrier 13 and is of trapezoidal cross-section. In use, the flat bristle support carrier 13 is bent into a cylindrical shape with the bristles 14 extending radially outwardly and with the two projections 16 abutting and extending radially inwardly. The bristle support carrier 13 is slid over the support member 11 from one axial end thereof (note the open end of groove 12 in FIG. 2b) with the projections 16 entering the groove 12 through the open end and locking the two members together.

The bristle support carrier 13 including the bristles 14 is made in one piece of a flexible synthetic plastic material. As may be seen in FIG. 2a, the flexibility of the support carrier 13 has been further enhanced by providing the back or side opposite the bristles with a plurality of grooves 15 which extend at least generally parallel to the projections 16 and in the illustrated embodiment are of triangular cross-section.

in FIG. 3 a different mbodiment of the invention is shown. Here a plurality of bristle support carriers 13' are mounted on. a support member 11. Each support carrier 13', instead of being formed flat as shown in FIG.2 has an annular shape. A plurality of bristles 14 extend radially outward from the outer circumference of the cylinder and a single undercut projection 16' of trapezoidal cross-section extends in the longitudinal direction on the inner side of the annular support carrier. The projection 16' is received frictionally in the groove 12 and locks the respective bristle support carrier 13 to the support member 11.

As mentioned previously the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown. For example, the support member 11 instead of being hollow could equally well be of solid construction. Instead of only a single groove the support member could have a plurality of these grooves. Although the brush has been illustrated as being of cylindrical form it could have many other shapes. For example the brush could be flat. The connecting means is not limited either in shape or number to that illustrated. For example, it is possible to change the shape of the projections and grooves in such a manner that a snap-action type of connection would result. Or it is possible to provide the undercut groove and projection with a configuration that is not trapezoidal. The undercuts could be round or oval in cross-section. There is also no reason why the location of the projections' and groove could not be reversed.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a brush; it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that from the standpoint of prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. A roller brush comprising, in combination, a cylindrical support member having a cylindrical outer face; a single undercut groove in said peripheral outer face of said cylindrical support member extending in axial direction thereof and having undercut side faces; a flexible rectangular bristle carrier having a length identical to the length of said cylindrical support member in axial direction thereof and having a width substantially corresponding to the circumference of said cylindrical support; outwardly projecting bristles arranged on one face of said flexible rectangular bristle carrier; and elongated undercut projections along those edges of said flexible rectangular bristle carrier which extend in direction of the length of the said bristle carrier, said projections extending outwardly from the other face of said flexible rectangular bristle carrier, whereby said flexible rectangular bristle carrier can be bent into a tubular shape with said elongated projections abutting against each other and slipped over said cylindrical carrier member with said projections located in said single undercut groove engaging the undercut faces thereof so that said flexible bristle carrier is held in its tubular shape on said cylindrical carrier member by said elongated undercut projections engaging the same single undercut groove in the cylindrical carrier member.

gated projections. 

1. A roller brush comprising, in combination, a cylindrical support member having a cylindrical outer face; a single undercut groove in said peripheral outer face of said cylindrical support member extending in axial direction thereof and having undercut side faces; a flexible rectangular bristle carrier having a length identical to the length of said cylindrical support member in axial direction thereof and having a width substantially corresponding to the circumference of said cylindrical support; outwardly projecTing bristles arranged on one face of said flexible rectangular bristle carrier; and elongated undercut projections along those edges of said flexible rectangular bristle carrier which extend in direction of the length of the said bristle carrier, said projections extending outwardly from the other face of said flexible rectangular bristle carrier, whereby said flexible rectangular bristle carrier can be bent into a tubular shape with said elongated projections abutting against each other and slipped over said cylindrical carrier member with said projections located in said single undercut groove engaging the undercut faces thereof so that said flexible bristle carrier is held in its tubular shape on said cylindrical carrier member by said elongated undercut projections engaging the same single undercut groove in the cylindrical carrier member.
 2. A brush as defined in claim 1, wherein said cylindrical support member is hollow.
 3. A brush as defined in claim 1, wherein said bristle carrier and said bristles are unitary, and wherein at least the bristles carrier and bristles are of synthetic plastic material.
 4. A brush as defined in claim 1, wherein the other of said sides is provided with a plurality of grooves which extend at least generally parallel to said elongated projections. 